Faith, jobs, and relationships key to beating addiction

An article in The New York Times about a faith-based program in Tennessee to retrain workers for new jobs and new lives after prison and addiction interviews Kenneth Leonard, director of UB’s Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions. He said spirituality is important but so too is steady work and healthy relationships. "We’ve known since the late 1960s that employment is a powerful predictor of low patterns of alcohol use and better responses to treatment. Similarly, some data suggests that when those addicted to opiates are stably employed and in a relationship with someone who doesn’t use drugs, the outcomes are better,” he said.